Rufus Cherubim
The son of the famed Dr. Miroslav Cherubim, Rufus is among the best commanders on Phantasia. However, the loss of his parents has severely damaged him psychologically. Although used to a solitary civilian life, he has high-powered family ties to the Seraphim Limited Liability Corporation; the president is his uncle, Prometheus Seraphim. He is also very close to SABERs, his Blazedge Ragnell being his only companion for seven years. Biography Early Life Rufus was born precocious, making him particularly smart even before the Reconfiguration. In scientific subjects, he passed with flying colors, while he did fairly well in other subjects, such as literature. Physical education was his worst subject, but that was no surprise. Rufus did have friends, though, and he was quite the gamer. He even had an account on Saber's Edge, where he started with a Blazedge filly he named Ragnell. He and Ragnell lost many of their early battles, not because they were bad at fighting, but because Blazedges were notoriously difficult to command due to their unbalanced stats. Most commanders blamed their SABERs for their losses, but Rufus blamed himself. After all, he was her commander, he was responsible for her. It took encouraging words from is father to get him back on his feet, and he and Ragnell got back to fighting. They decided to seek help from masterless SABERs, as other players would simply dismiss him. Specifically, they seeked out Akupara, the guardian of the land. For many players, Akupara was simply a bonus boss of sorts. It was Ragnell's suggestion to seek him out, seeing as he had won many a battle. It was fortunate for the two that he was stationed in the simulation of Kreisan Crag, just north of the simulated Kreisan Port. When they arrived, they discovered a bunch of players ganging up on Akupara. They were pretty much torturing the Administrator-tier, which seriously pissed off Ragnell. Rufus managed to stop her from attacking them, but she still dropped a few verbal bombs. Akupara's attackers decided to go after her instead, for kicks. She was no match for them. Although she fought back bravely, she was eventually cornered and exhausted. What was worse was that her attackers had deactivated their SABERs' safety programs; if they defeated Ragnell, they would delete her. Things turned really ugly when Rufus tried to log Ragnell out. He couldn't; Ragnell's attackers had logout blockers illegally installed. This finally incited Akupara's wrath. With a roar, he crushed one of the SABERs attacking Ragnell underneath his massive foot. The others bolted like rabbits. Rufus and Ragnell, on the other hand, were awestruck. Rufus even considered backing off. Akupara quickly calmed down, though, and questioned why they were meeting him. When they explained themselves, Akupara roared with laughter; this was a first for him, apparently. Sadly, he could not train them himself. However, he gave them something; a mysterious patch called Ascendance. Akupara only gave cryptic advice before retreating back into his shell; "Transcend the stars to use its power." Rufus and Ragnell began a short training regimen, in an attempt to figure out how to use Ascendance properly. Simply installing the patch turned out to be a failure; nothing happened. Using it in combat proved fruitless. Rufus then came up with a theory; would it work as an emergency measure? They decided to try it out in an arena match. Rufus and Ragnell could have sworn they heard murmurs accusing them of hacking, as they entered the arena; as far as anyone knew, this was the first time an Ascendance patch was used, much less heard of. As the match began, Ragnell played defensively as usual, hoping to give Ascendance enough time to trigger. This was their problem; because they always kept losing, Rufus and Ragnell preferred survivalist tactics. Blazedges like her were better for aggressive tactics. Hoer low defense eventually led to her HP hitting critical. That's when Ascendance finally triggered. A bright flash erupted from Ragnell, and when it cleared, Ragnell was wearing beautiful armor and her stats had gone through the roof. Everyone was stunned, even Ragnell. Rufus quickly took advantage of this, and ordered Ragnell to attack. A single swipe of Ragnell's blades, and an electrical storm began in the arena. When it cleared, their opponent was sprawled out on the floor, defeated. Needless to say, they weren't the only shocked ones. Rufus and Ragnell would later go on to enjoy a string of victories, some assisted with Ascendance. And then, the Reconfiguration hit. Rufus was reading a psychology book when the horizon suddenly hit up. Surprised, he looked up to see a dome of light growing from the horizon. He realized it was from Revolution, before the Reconfiguration absorbed Kreisan, knocking him out. He woke up to a bright, scorching sun. As he sat up, he saw the devastation around him. Various things were fused together, including people, and there were strange blue crystals laying around, some of them having eaten away at some people. He was quick to realize he was outside, and not at home. He ran around, looking for his mother, hoping that she wasn't fused or eaten by those crystals. Those hopes were dashed when he found her. She had a gaping hole in her chest, lined with those blue crystals. Immediately, he broke down crying. At his feet, however, was a little blue cube of noise. He didn't notice at first, but that cube of noise began to hop around him, as if it was alive and trying to comfort him. Life was tough for him over the next few months, and he would never recover from his trauma. He didn't go to an orphanage, partially by his own choice and partially because the system was too heavily flooded. Instead, the mayor of Kreisan, a survivor of the Reconfiguration, gave him a houseboat that also survived, setting it up for him in a quiet corner of Kreisan. Rufus would hide here often, nearly becoming agoraphobic. Frequently, people would gather outside, trying to attack him verbally. After all, he was the son of the man who they blamed for the Reconfiguration. There were those that defended him, as well, and once, a riot broke out in front of his own house. He didn't leave for two weeks afterwards. Meanwhile, that little blue cube was slowly growing, and taking shape. Many times, Rufus attempted to dispose of it; after all, noise did kill his mother. However, it kept coming back, making Rufus believe it was sentient. He also noticed that other people had similar pieces of noise, on his few shopping trips. Rufus decided to keep it, which turned out to be a very good idea. As time passed, it began to grow an equine shape that was oddly familiar. It began to turn pink eventually... and turned out to be Ragnell, brought into the real world by noise. Ragnell's presence was clearly helping Rufus. He began to spend less time holed up at home, eventually returning to school... briefly. Despite being only eleven at the time, he accelerated through his classes so quickly that he was already taking his exit exams at twelve, and passed with flying colors. Like some people around him, Rufus' brainpower had been bolstered by noise... except his grew exponentially. This made plenty of his former classmates, especially the brawn Phantasians, rather jealous. Some began to bully him, making him more reclusive. What they gave him the most grief about, though, was the fact that he no longer battled. After the Reconfiguration, Rufus had slipped into extreme depression, and lost the heart to do anything, especially fight. He wouldn't apply for a commander's license for five years, not until he met his second SABER. Blaze of the Heavens Personality Rufus is a broken man, to put it simply, who only hangs onto sanity by various threads. He has a tendency to try to avoid contact with others, preferring to keep to himself largely because he is afraid of losing others, the same way he lost his mother and father. However, he gives an exception to SABERs, especially the ones in his party, who he would risk his life to save. Then again, it is easy to say that they are the ones that help keep him sane. While he is extraordinarily shy, he's notable for his bravery, leaving Kreisan City on multiple camping trips even before Ragnell rematerialized after the Reconfiguration, which is known to be extremely dangerous. He is also famed for taking on Administrator-tier SABERs after the Reconfiguration, which is seen as suicidal even among the highest-ranking commanders. The fact that he won doesn't help either. Abilities Day in and day out, Rufus makes almost constant use of his brainpower. Because he reshelves books at the Kreisan Public Library for a living, he has been able to approximate the locations of the most commonly checked out books, and his favorite, mentally and with unnerving accuracy. He has a very strong spatial sense as well, which helps when navigating both Kreisan City and the Kreisan Desert. What really stands out about him, though, is his sheer intelligence. Despite being 17, he has long graduated from high school with exam grades that put his teachers to shame. In fact, some universities have invited him to study in their state-of-the-art facilities; the only reason he hasn't accepted those invitations is because of his damaged mind. Even they agree he still needs time to heal. Rufus also spends a lot of time outside of Kreisan, camping near the Kreisan Desert River. That time has given him exceptional survival skills, meaning he could go for months if he didn't have a job in Kreisan. He also knows the Kreisan Desert fairly well, but has never gone to the Kreisan Sand Ocean before the Shintsuki Incident. Rufus is very close to SABERs in general, which gives him an all-access pass into the pristine Izuka Forest. Although not empathic, he is sensitive to their ideals and rather protective of nonaggressive SABERs. This is one of the many reasons why he prefers survivalist tactics, to minimize harm to the SABERs under his command. Because he is so good at commanding SABERs, and because he cares so deeply about them, he is well-known among SABERs; when Pegasi bolt from him, they come back to him a few minutes later, amazingly. In terms of combat, Rufus is dead meat on his own. He knows how to set traps and use a hunting knife offensively, but that's about it. However, paired with at least one SABER, he is fearsome on the battlefield. His strength comes from his ability to coordinate multiple attack patterns, which he invented, turning ordinary combo attacks into devastating double combo attacks. His supreme intelligence also helps, as he is capable of predicting his enemy's next move with some degree of accuracy. Family Dr. Miroslav Cherubim Rufus' father, Dr. Cherubim was a scientist in the Revolution Science Center; specifically the chief scientist of the Matter Encoding Project, which led to the Reconfiguration. Rufus idolizes his father, who some people blame for intentionally causing the Reconfiguration. This blame has led Rufus to become reclusive, as some take it out on him. However, insulting his father has a tendency to lead to someone getting fried, as Rufus staunchly believes he is blameless. In memory of his father, Rufus grew out his hair and tied it into a ponytail, the same way he would when he didn't have time to cut his hair. Eden Cherubim President Prometheus Seraphim Prosephine Seraphim Rufus' only cousin and heir to the Seraphim fortune, Prosephine is the first product of the SABER Hybridization Project. He is surprisingly comfortable around her, and will never refuse to play with her. Party Ragnell Rufus' first SABER, and his only companion for seven years, Ragnell is known for her soldier-like nature, becoming tough to keep her unstable commander safe. Fortunately, as a Blazedge, this toughness is built into her. Ragnell prefers not to use class patches, favoring her natural, honed talents. Unfortunately, Ragnell has a habit of pushing herself too far too quickly, and is a little violent. However, she will never ignore Rufus' orders. Ragnell's Ascendance form makes her grow thick, knight-like armor and a feather skirt. It drastically increases her strength, defense, and speed, and transforms her swords from their traditional sickle-like design to variable-length energy blades. It also causes her swords to give off an aura of rose petals while she attacks, slightly obscuring the enemy's view. Guinevere Pelleas Morgane Mordred Percival Sonia Category:Characters Category:Phantasians Category:Commanders